About

Patrick O'Reilly is a composer/guitarist/artist and a community-driven fixture in the Toronto creative music scene. His open-minded approach embraces the lyrical and chaotic, the composed and the spontaneous; he operates the W/DRWN record label, is co-curator of the Furniture Music workshop series, is a contributor to Musicworks Magazine, and co-curates the Second Fridays concert series in partnership with the Canadian Music Centre. His trio Wire Circus has released two albums showcasing Patrick's compositions alongside pixelated/frenetic improvisation.

As a solo performer, O’Reilly’s guitar work reflects an idiosyncratic command of texture and form. His performances are exploratory, tactile, and emotionally raw. drawing as much from jazz and experimental music as from drone, minimalism, and noise. Whether coaxing microtonal washes from prepared strings or sculpting angular lines in free time, he invites listeners into a world of unexpected beauty and expressive risk.

A sought-after collaborator, he can be found on tour internationally with Senegalese Afro-Pop artist Cheikh Ibra Fam, in Canada with singer-songwriter Just Prince, and art-pop band Language Arts, in the basement at Wenona Lodge exploring improvised music and video games with Render File, in Kensington Market with epic-afro-funk trio Wapama, at the University of Toronto running the Large Improvising Ensemble (DOG), and most often at the Tranzac Club with Never Was, Brodie West, John Southworth, Cosmic Homeostasis, and in a duo format with Poet/Musician Roula Said.

His latest release, Plastic Babies, is a collaborative album with celebrated improvisers Christine Duncan and Laura Swankey. Produced by Jean Martin and released on the venerable Barnyard Records, the album showcases the trio’s spontaneous and deeply connected musical language. His previous release The Remembrancer: Justin Haynes Plays the Compositions of Patrick O'Reilly, features Patrick's compositions performed and recorded by the late Justin Haynes in what would prove to be one of his final collaborations. 

Forthcoming projects include a solo album of original compositions recorded on the legendary TONTO synthesizer. Housed inside the National Music Centre in Calgary, The Original New Timbral Orchestra (TONTO) is the first and largest multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer. He will also be releasing an acoustic duo album recorded with his dear friend bassist/composer Phill Albert on October 8th at Sellers and Newel bookshop

Patrick holds a Bachelor’s of Contemporary Music from Humber College, and Master’s in Musical Arts from the University of Toronto where he is a Doctoral candidate. He is a sessional lecturer at both the University of Toronto and Toronto Metropolitan University.

Whether performing solo or in collaboration, O’Reilly’s work invites audiences to listen differently, to dwell in uncertainty, to discover new resonances, and to experience the guitar as a site of radical possibility.